LGBT Oral History: Shaka Hudson

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Shaka Hudson was born in 1949 in Harrisburg as the middle of five children. An artist his whole life, Shaka attended John Harris High School and Penn State University before unenrolling in college and leaving Harrisburg to join the Washington D.C. Repertory Dance Company and Theatre Company as a dancer. There, he met his first male partner, and together they moved to New York City in 1975. While modeling for an art class at the Art Students League, Shaka met and fell in love with a woman who he later married and had one daughter with. After they divorced approximately 10 years later, Shaka moved to Richmond, Virginia with a new male lover who, unbeknownst to Shaka, was sick with AIDS. Shaka contracted HIV in 1987. After his lover’s death, Shaka moved back to the Harrisburg area and had one more major relationship. In this interview, he thoroughly discusses his journey as an artist and a dancer. Shaka also discusses the AIDS epidemic, his relationships with family members, and changes he would make to the Harrisburg community. Additionally, he expresses his concern that the younger generation is too carelessly promiscuous as well as the importance of citizens exercising their right to vote.